The Beijing Diaoyutai State Guesthouse is an important place for Chinese leaders to conduct foreign affairs and also a super star-level hotel for the reception of state guests and important guests from various countries. Since its establishment in 1959, it has received more than a thousand guests from all over the world, and is a place that is widely watched by people and media from all over the world.
The Diaoyutai State Guesthouse is located in the ancient Diaoyutai scenic area outside Fuchengmen in the western suburbs of Beijing, with a length of about one kilometer from north to south and a width of about 0.5 kilometers from east to west, with a total area of 420,000 square meters. The guesthouse has more than a dozen buildings, numbered from north of the east gate of Diaoyutai in a counterclockwise direction, with no numbers 1 and 13 to respect foreign customs. In the 1980s, after being re-planned and arranged, Building 18 became the highest-standard reception building for heads of state. Generally, guests below the level of heads of state are accommodated in Buildings 5, 6, and 7, which have roughly the same standards.
The environment at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse is elegant and peaceful, with green waters, red flowers, and stone bridges between buildings and towers, perfect blending of classical Chinese architectural styles and modern architectural styles.
The history of Diaoyutai can be traced back to 800 years ago in the Jin Dynasty. At that time, it was located in the northwest of the capital and was called Fish Algae Pool. It was a place for the emperors of Jin and Yuan to tour every year. Emperor Zhangzong of the Jin Dynasty was named "Diaoyutai" because he fished here. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, it became a suburban villa for the imperial family. In 1763, the water of Xiangshan was used to dredge the Fish Algae Pool into a lake, connected to the Fuchengmen moat, and this lake is Yuyuantan. In 1798, Diaoyutai was built and a plaque was written by the emperor.
In the summer of 1958, in view of the invitation of foreign political figures to China for the 10th anniversary of the founding of the country, Premier Zhou proposed the construction of a high-level state guesthouse with Chinese characteristics. After several selections by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Diao-yu-tai was finally selected as the location for the state guesthouse. The main designer of the Diao-yu-tai state guesthouse was the famous Chinese architect Zhang Kaiji. The more than ten buildings of the Diao-yu-tai state guesthouse were completed in less than a year. The guesthouse for receiving guests is located north of the east gate of Diao-yu-tai and is numbered in a counterclockwise direction. In order to respect the customs of foreign countries, there is no number 13 building, and in order to respect Chinese tradition, Fangfei Garden replaces building one and Babk Garden replaces building four. The state guesthouse is designed in the style of a famous garden in the south of the Yangtze River. At the southwestern end of the courtyard, there is a group of ancient buildings, "Yangling Zhai."
Post time: Feb-28-2023
